The Augusta Country Club could use some new members and a steady stream of revenue from outside events. Toward that end, the club added director of club operations to superintendent Chris Barnicoat’s duties and hired a couple of new people in Randy Blouin and Elizabeth Strout.   
Augusta is in the same boat as courses around the state and country in a golf industry that peaked some years ago and is competing for membership. The club has tried several general managers and marketers in recent years but this group is making headway. Membership is up a net of about 60, according to Barnicoat, thanks in part to a promotion last fall that allowed new members to finish the fall season for free if they joined for 2012. The club has also reduced its rates for new members.
“Randy Blouin put some attention into that area that’s been needed for awhile,” Barnicoat said. “We’re getting a lot younger crowd which is good. We have an aging membership.”
Blouin came from a golf club in Pennsylvania while Strout, who was hired as restaurant and event manager, ran a catering business in Boothbay Harbor.
“She’s been instrumental in booking new events,” Barnicoat said.
Those events includes business meeting and lunches, reunions and weddings. So far this season, the club has hosted five wedding receptions, four more than a year ago, and has already booked three for next summer.
“In order to keep this place running we need to fill in those gaps with outside events,” Barnicoat said.
Barnicoat still pays a lot of attention to the course which drew rave reviews at last week’s Maine Open. Augusta will host the women’s amateur later this month and the men’s amateur next summer. The club also hopes to get the Maine Open back again next year.
“With the MSGA we’ve had a lot of success working with them,” Barnicoat said. “The Maine Open was a huge success. I guess they want to just keep coming back. It’s great exposure for the club.”

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Ron Paulette has taken over as general manager at Pine Ridge Golf Course in Waterville. The par 3 course is owned by the city which put in an irrigation system two years ago. It’s made a huge difference in the condition of the course, according to Paulette.
Paulette, who has worked at Pine Ridge for the past 15 years, bought out former manager Stan Mathieu. He continues to mow greens and fairways and work in the clubhouse.
“It’s a beginner’s course,” Paulette said. “The older fellas like it to practice their short game and the high school teams all practice here.”
The course has a couple of carts for older members as well as push carts. The clubhouse sells drinks and snacks and is adjacent to Joseph’s Steakhouse. The shortest hole is 125 yards and the longest 220 yards.
“You can use a variety of clubs,” Paulette said.

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Pittston’s Ryan Gay is only 21 but has already won three Maine Amateurs, including the last two. He’ll be the favorite next week when the amateurs tee it up for the first time at Sunday River.
“I’ve played there a fair amount,” Gay said. “It just depends on how the course plays. If you play it all the way back (over 7,000 yards) it puts more emphasis on ball striking. As the move the tees up the fairways kind of get narrower. They can make it so you have some choices to make off the tees.”
Gay shot 72-73 — 145 at the recent Maine Open to finish in a tie for 26th place. He’s since taken a week off from golf.
“I needed a break from golf,” he said. “I’ve been going pretty strong for a long time.”
Gay played three years at the University of New Mexico before transferring this spring. He’ll attend St. John’s University in the fall to play golf but before that will play in the New England amateur at Falmouth and try to qualify for the U.S. Amateur at Sanford.

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The New England Women’s Amateur will be held at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro from July 9-11. The tournament rotates to a  different New England state every year and this was Maine’s turn. This is the first time it’s being held at Natanis and it didn’t hurt that it’s the home course of Women’s Maine State Golf Association president Trudy Dorval.
“Myself and the tournament chair chose Natanis,” Dorval said. “Where it was my home course it was an easy decision.”
The three-day tournament will be held on the Tomahawk Course at 36-hole Natanis while the Arrowhead Course will be open for general play. The course will play just over 5,500 yards, meaning some of the holes will be played from the regular men’s tees.
Each state is allotted a maximum of 18 players but Maine already has 24 since some states didn’t reach the maximum. Defending Maine Amateur champ Emily Bouchard, 22, of Saco is in the field along with Natanis members Liz Wiltshire and Dale Hannon.
Chip shots: The Maine Women’s Amateur will be held at the Augusta Country Club from July 23-25. For the first time, the Women’s Maine State Golf Association and the Southern Maine Women’s Golf Association will combine to hold a single championship. They’ve held separate championships in the past although the WMSGA tile has been considered the overall amateur championship. “The two women’s associations have been working for over a year to have this combined championship,” WMSGA president Trudy Dorval said . . . The Maine women recently finished third at the annual Tri-State Championships held at Mt. Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, N.H. Vermont won the title while New Hampshire took second . . . The Maine State Golf Association has added a college division to its regular junior events to allow players over 17 years of age a chance to play competitively. To play in the college division players can still compete for $23 per event, provided they can show a valid college ID or transcript . . . Lakewood will host the weekly MSGA tournament July 13-14.
Gary Hawkins — 621-5638
ghawkins@centralmaine.com

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